By Naughty Mickie notymickie@earthlink.net
SoCal rockers Fuji Minx have been making a lot of noise in the scene. In 2007, their self-release, "Users Cheaters Theatres," was named "Album of the Year" by Bullz-Eye Magazine and they won the Golden Kayak from Independent Artists Company for "Best Alternative Pop Song" for the cut, "But No No No." Their effort has seen lots of #1s on the indie charts, plus the band has had music featured in "Roommates," a reality show on the Internet, and on "Modele," a Spanish television series. Topping this, Fuji Minx has also been featured on "Indie Pads," an MTV "Cribs" type show that focuses on independent artists.
Fuji Minx features the core quartet of vocalist and electric guitarist Greta "GV" Valenti, John Fry on acoustic and altered acoustic guitar, Rob Zero handling keyboard, synthesizer, programming and drummer Nolaig McMurray. Live, they add in bassist Pepe Alonso (Maria Fatal).
"I was in a punk band and we lost our lead singer, he had quit, and I was looking around asking people," Fry begins. "I knew a guy who I was in a bowling league with, to sound really un-hip for a moment, and he was working at the Orange County Performing Arts. I asked him, 'Do you know anybody who wants to be in a band.' He goes, 'As a matter of fact I do.' I was in Vegas with him at the time and he wrote down on a cocktail napkin Greta's name and phone number, he goes, 'Give her a call, she might be interested.' When I got back from Vegas I called up Greta and she goes, 'Yeah, that sounds really interesting.' I go, 'Let's meet.'"
"That's not what I said," Valenti pipes up.
"No, she said, 'That is very interesting Mr. Fry,'" laughs Fry. "I don't remember the exact words, but she was interested enough to meet me and I handed her a tape of our music and said, 'Learn two or three songs and we'll meet up with the rest of the band and see how it goes.' And it went great."
"He also said, 'And you passed the cute test' and I went, 'Yesss!' I felt like I had an in after he said that," Valenti says.
"We're talking so I'm just getting a visual," Fry explains. "I don't know how she sings and I go, 'Well, you passed the cute test if that means anything.' She says, 'Yes.' I think, that's really cool, she didn't go 'what a creep' or she didn't give me that look, you know, 'why are you going there?' She went with it."
"And then I immediately called the police," Valenti deadpans.
That was at the end of 2002 and the punk band only lasted a few months after that. Fry and Valenti then reevaluated what kind of group they would like and began writing songs and looking for new band mates. In 2003, they formed an acoustic version of what would become Fuji Minx the following year and they definitely found their own groove.
I ask them to describe their sound.
"A fan said once, 'David Bowie's vagina'," Valenti answers.
"Most of the songs came from me and I'm heavily influenced by the Beatles and David Bowie and all the classic rock guys, the Led Zeppelins of the world," Fry picks up. "I bring the songs to the band and everybody puts in their take, their flavor. Greta comes from a more theatrical background, plus she's very diverse in her likes. Noel and Rob, they're both classic rocks guys, but then they also have some out-there tastes for bands you've probably never heard of. They're very eclectic. I'll bring the song in, I'll show them the parts and they add their thing and it becomes what it is. A mix, I guess."
Valenti decides to try again, "The style I would say is, we always say alternative pop, but it's also a lot of glam, so we say like modern alternative pop mixed with '70s glam."
Fry wrote most of the music for Fuji Minx's current album, "But Greta has found her muse and she's writing up a firestorm of songs. She wrote a couple all by herself on the first one. She said, 'I wrote a song.' I go, 'Really? Where?' Because I never see her play guitar. She goes, 'I wrote it in the car and I taped it.' Then she grabs out her guitar and bashes out a few chords. I took it to the band and they're good. It's amazing that they're good because she doesn't sit around and hash it out, but lately she's got a song every day. The next CD we put out will probably be a lot of Greta."
Locally, Fuji Minx has been getting raves for their stage show too.
"We've been working on the live show, trying to do something new to it, adding very visual things," says Valenti. "We've got videos that play during the show and correspond with the whole show, we've got props to help tell a story about what's going on."
The songs may have different meanings to Valenti on different nights, so the show varies depending on what she wants to express. Adding to the performance is her attire. Valenti takes about an hour to get dressed for shows, she wears lots of
layers of clothes and gradually takes them off during the show until she reaches the last layer.
"I started through musical theater," Valenti says. "My mom was a drama teacher at a Catholic elementary school that I went to so I would help her out with show and when I was old enough I started auditioning for the shows. I started when I was around four doing musical theater. At home I would do a lot of stuff because I was an only child and I would get really bored. I would sing songs and create plays.
"I played a couple of instruments here and there." Valenti continues, "I played recorder, then trumpet was my first real instrument that I played, I was 10. I lost interest after that age, so I was mainly singing. I played guitar a little bit in high school, but got disinterested again. I played piano off and on throughout the years. But I really did start playing guitar or anything I play until now. I needed to play the guitar for songwriting purposes and I became really interested and I wanted to play guitar."
Valenti owns a graphic design company and for fun she paints and does art, surfs and is very active. She's also learning how to shoot a gun and recently bought a rifle, "I'm from Louisiana and that's very white trash of me to do, but it was fun."
McMurray takes his turn, "I've liked the drums since I heard two albums, one was 'Band on the Run' by Paul McCartney and the other was 'Join Together' by The Who. I played the drums in high school and after school I got into playing in a band and the band toured a lot."
McMurray was in Blue Russia and toured Europe.
"We originated in Ireland and everybody in those days was in a band. Like all bands did those days, we went to London and spent three years there and from London we toured all over Europe. I was a jewelry designer and at the end of that it took me to California. When I came here for jewelry that was it."
Today McMurray works insurance. He likes to listen to music, read, travel and hang out with family. His wife is the jewelry designer now.
"I love traveling, that's a passion of mine. New places, new people and new victims," McMurray laughs.
"I had an older brother who had a guitar and an amplifier and he wouldn't let me play it, so when he left the house I would sneak into his room and hook it up and start plucking away at things and coming up with little melodies," shares Fry. "My parents go, 'Was it you?' I'd go, 'Yeah.' They'd say it was pretty good. The bad news is I haven't improved that much since then. I was seven years old. It was a giant beet red semi-hollow body Harmony guitar from Sears that I just wrestled around with, but I loved it. I was able to make music and it was just like magic.
"My parents bought me an organ. It was good for learning how to read music and play music, but it didn't really rock for me. I didn't get it going where it sounded good. I was just young and with a keyboard you just play what the music teacher hands you. It didn't really do it for me."
At age 14 Fry asked for a guitar and ended up taking lessons from Carl Verheyen, who went on to be in Supertramp and writes about jazz for many music magazines.
"He asked what I wanted to play and I said rock, so he showed me rock and that's what opened it up for me," Fry say. "That was my only formal training whatsoever, I was more turned on by creating music and not really record copying like most guys do.
I was into my own thing and bought myself a four track recording device and would do all the parts myself and create my own songs and that's how I became a songwriter. I gravitated more to the songwriting than the actual playing of the instrument. The playing is just a means to write music. Now, playing a lot of live shows, I'm getting better as a musician, but first and foremost I'm a songwriter."
Fuji Minx is a full-time job for Fry, "I'm still living off my inheritance. I'm down to my last five digits so we have to make this band work quick or I have to go out and find a job."
He likes playing cards and gambling. Plays Texas Hold 'Em is his favorite game, but he isn't playing as often as he would like, "You always end up losing in the end, but it is fun. I can't afford to do that."
Zero is a classically trained musician, who majored in music in college and is currently composer for film, television and other musicians.
Fuji Minx is working on a new CD using previously unreleased material and new songs. Before heading into the studio, they are trying out the new material at their shows to see what works.
"The video is telling a lot of stories throughout the songs," says McMurray of their shows. "The response has been, 'Wow, this is really cool.' We use '20s and '30s excerpts from shows to modern footage. It's real interesting and visual, the music is obviously number one, but the visual really enhances the experience. When you do come and see us, you get a lot of extras that you never see from a band locally."
"But he left out one thing," Fry interjects. "Our most spectacular visual is Greta. Greta is the sexiest and prettiest singer out there, so if you want to see a live show with a hot girl as a front person, come out and see Fuji Minx because Greta is sensational."
"Hopefully I sing well too," Valenti replies with a giggle.
Check out what may possibly be the next big thing, Fuji Minx, at www.fujiminx.com
Visit my blogs at http://mickieszoo.blogspot.com and www.insidesocal.com/doodah
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